Transitions
by soulsaver
Summary: The changing relationship between Danny and Mel. Will be romance eventually. Will be at least 5 chapters if people like the story. My first fanfic. Please r&r!
1. Chapter 1

_**Transitions**_

**Disclaimer:** The characters do not belong to me. They belong to Tim Minear and Howard Gordon, and seriously if I did own them. . . . . . . . oh, the fun I could have.

**Summary:** The relationship between Danny and Mel. Will be partly amusing, angsty, smutty and drama in later chapters. This is just the start though, so it's not really any of those things (yet!).

This is my first fanfic ever, so please be kind and constructive! Will be more chapters if feedback warrants it. Please r&r. Reviews are love!

(By the way, I have no-one to check my stories before I post them, so many apologies for spelling mistakes, etc.)

**Word count: **1892

**Rating:** M to be on the safe side (for mild language).

"I'll give you a ride home. You can pretend we're on a date."

"How sweet am I for thinking that's a sweet idea?"

Danny and Mel made their way out of the office, down to the parking lot and got into Danny's car. As he swung his car to Mel's place, he asked "Got any plans for this weekend?" He smirked. "Any action lined up?" Any change he got to annoy Mel was a chance put to good use, he thought. Besides, Mel always gave back as good as she got. Sometimes better.

Mel slid him a look. "If by action, you mean catching up with friends, watching baseball on TV and walking my dog, then yeah, it's an action packed weekend. Besides," she said with a smirk, "my being dateless is so much less tragic than hearing about your multitude of disastrous dates every Monday."

"Hey!" Danny said looking offended, "I do not have disastrous dates every weekend. I just like to move on before they become too clingy."

"You mean they move on once they realise what you're after."

Danny threw her a look. Giving back as good as she got. "I'll have you know that I'm a perfect gentleman. Until they get to know me" he added with a wicked grin. "Anyway" he continued with a casual shrug, "I only let you think my dates are so disastrous so you won't feel bad about your continual single status." That'll teach her, he thought.

Mel snorted. "You're too kind." "You're right though" she yawned a few minutes later. "These hours killed whatever measly social life I used to have. Much as I like being busy, I can't eat, breathe and live these crimes the way Web and Rebecca do."

Danny knew exactly what she meant. While he was completely focussed on his job, took it seriously, thrived on and enjoyed the job, he didn't live his job. Not like Web and Rebecca. Paul had his home life with Karen, Mel had her . . . . . . . dogs, and he had . . . . . . . well, he had fun with the ladies, he could leave work and still go out and have a social life. Hell, in this job he needed it. But Rebecca and Web lived, ate and breathed the job. They seemed to take it as a personal attack anytime someone killed. They seemed to thrive on outsmarting the criminals and their personal lives be damned.

"I know" Danny resumed the conversation. "My sister tells me it's been so long since she's seen me that Sammy's going to forget what his uncle looks like."

Mel perked up. "Oh, you're gonna see your sister? Say hi to her for me. How's she doin'?" After two years of working together, countless conversations on never-ending stakeouts and occasions when Mel was forced to drag Danny away from some family gathering when they caught a break on a case and it wouldn't wait, Mel knew practically all of Danny's history and family. Just like he knew hers.

Danny smiled. "She's good. She's bugging Greg about having another kid."

"Well, if she's anything like you, I know she'll get her way."

"Cos I'm smart, convincing and determined?"

"No, cos you're pig-headed, stubborn and only hear what you want to."

Danny shot her a look. "How 'bout I make you get out and walk?"

"How 'bout I threw it back in your face every damn day until we stopped working together?" Mel fired back without even pausing.

Danny groaned. "Definitely not worth it."

He pulled up outside of Mel's house. "Thanks for the lift. I'll see you Monday" Mel smiled at him as she got out.

"No problem. See ya." He waited until Mel actually entered her house, and then headed home. As Danny drove along, he reflected back on the discussion that he and Mel had shared. These hours were killing his social life. He'd never had any problems attracting girls, but in this line of work, he could never be guaranteed to actually be able to show up to a date on time, sometimes at all. It was hard enough to get a relationship up and running without a girl accusing you of being a player or not even interested in calling her when in actuality, you were too busy trying to track down a killer who made earrings out of people's eyeballs. Now there was a case he'd never forget.

Still, as demanding as his job was, he worked with a pretty good bunch of people. There was Paul, who always reminded everyone that there was a human toll to every crime. He was their conscience.

Rebecca, the newest member to their team. Damn fine looking, Danny thought. Easy on the eyes and a hell of an asset to their team. But she had no people skills and got way too involved in the crimes. Danny knew that no-one, no-one, could have gone through what she had and come out unscathed, but she didn't enjoy life. Merely tolerated it between cases. Dating her would be a lot like dating Web. Danny shuddered. Too scary to even think about. Great legs, though.

Danny was more than happy to admit that he was the muscle of the group. Hell, he was a big guy and he had coaxed confessions out of the toughest perps, just by looking intimidating. But there was a brain under the brawn and Danny knew that Web wouldn't have kept him around if he hadn't brought something unique to the team. He may not have fancy psychology degrees, but he was able to break cases down to their most basic levels and catch the most obvious points that the others ignored.

There was Carter of course, about the best damn tech person in the Bureau. Carter was the most laid back amongst them, but his nonchalant attitude hid all the passion and intelligence he brought to his job everyday.

That just left Mel, Danny thought as he pulled up to a stop sign. Mel was. . . . . .Well, Mel was Mel. Most people only saw the dry and sarcastic side of Mel. The one that showed the world that she was rarely surprised by what the job and life in general threw at her, and still wouldn't let it beat her down. Danny still remembered their first meeting. Mel had just been transferred into the team as another team member had a breakdown after a particularly bad case that involved kids. Web was already in his office and Paul was in a particularly loved up phase with Karen, so he was running late. Danny had walked in to find Mel arranging things on her desk.

'Aha,' he thought assessing her. 'New guy. Or girl in this case. Not bad looking. Lipstick is a bit dark. Making a statement?' he wondered.

He spoke. "So you're the fresh meat huh? Well, I'm Special Agent Danny Love."

"Melody Sims" she answered with a smile and held out her hand to him. He took it and found he liked her handshake. Strong, without trying to use too much force.

"Don't expect it to be easy around here. We all pull our weight and more. Where'd you get transferred from anyway?"

Mel had stiffened slightly at his words. "I know what you're thinking. I got this job because of my stunning good looks. Not true actually. I scored in the top 3 of my psychology class at Yale and the top 4 of my FBI year. Not class, year. I worked on the Jellybean Killer case in Montana and if they had listened to me, they would've caught the guy before he got to his last victim." Mel sat down and looked at Danny coolly.

"Why didn't they?" Danny asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Because apparently I wasn't 'being a team player'" Mel replied, her tone filled with disdain. "What that actually means is that I felt my boss was too busy being a glory hound and not paying attention to the case and the evidence and tried to go over his head. When he found out, I was stuck at my desk. Then they caught the guy through a fluke, a traffic stop of all things, and it was discovered that everything I'd been telling them was absolutely correct, right down to the way he chose his victims." Mel shrugged. "Then I was transferred here."

"Your old boss transfer you out?" Danny asked curiously.

Mel looked thoughtful. "That's what I thought, but Special Agent Web requested me. And I was more than ready to move on" Mel said, half under her breath. The fact was, she was desperate to move on. While everything she had told Danny was true, she also knew that rejecting the advances of her very determined, very married, very powerful boss had also played a big part in being chained to her desk. After that happened, Mel had decided, then and there, that she would never, ever even contemplate or encourage getting involved with another team member.

No matter how gorgeous their blue eyes were.

"So here I am" Mel finished. "Ready to jump in and pull my weight" she added lightly, echoing his earlier words. Mel cocked an eyebrow. "Unless you're afraid of being upstaged?"

In reply, Danny tossed a file onto his desk and started sorting his presentation to the team. "Coffee" he said to Mel, holding out his coffee cup to her.

"Thanks" Mel said, giving him a look that said 'Dream on, buddy.' "White, two sugars."

Danny shot her a look that showed he was unimpressed with her answer, and as they both turned back to their respective tasks, Danny allowed himself a small, half-smile.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Web had been watching their little interaction from his office. These two were actually going to get along, he thought. Interesting.

Danny and Mel's first conversation pretty much set the groundwork for their working relationship. Smart comments, challenging statements and as time went on, more personal information, verbal sparring, sharing of histories, learning what personal habits bugged the hell out of the other and using them whenever it would be funny to irritate the hell out of the other, and most importantly, a deep respect for the other's skills and abilities.

Danny was brought back to the present as he pulled into the parking garage of his apartment complex and headed up to his apartment. Thinking back on it, Mel helped focus all their skills, the brains, the brawn, the conscience, the science, into the big picture and show them the history and present of a crime, its victims and the probable future for the perp. But she brought much more than that.

Mel had an amazing ability to get perps to open up to her. She seemed so cool and so convinced that everyone was wasting her time when she was talking to them, that they often revealed things to her that they hadn't meant to and Mel's sharp mind would quickly hone in on every detail, every inconsistency, that they would trap themselves without even realising it. Damn useful skill to have on this team.

Yep, Danny thought as he yawned and let himself into his apartment. He worked with a pretty good bunch of people.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

**Disclaimer:** The characters do not belong to me. They belong to Tim Minear and Howard Gordon, and if I had my way, they'd still be gracing my tv screen.

**Summary: **The team investigate a new crime. Lots of Danny/Mel, but no romance yet. I'm working up to it!

Please review!

(Many apologies for spelling mistakes, etc.)

**Rating:** M to be on the safe side (for mild language).

The phone rang shrilly in Mel's ear at 3:37am. Startled, Mel sat up and reached to turn off her alarm clock. Then she realised what the sound actually was and picked up the phone. 'This ain't gonna be good news' Mel thought. "Yeah?" she answered groggily.

"Another vic's been discovered. Looks like our guy" Web said by way of a greeting. While Mel's brain was still trying to grapple into full consciousness, Web sounded alert and like he'd been up for hours.

"I want you to call Danny and meet us at the scene. If it is our guy, then it means he's escalating and we need to assess the situation ASAP." After giving Mel the address, Web hung up without so much as a goodbye.

Mel sighed, got out of bed and turned on her bedroom light. What a great way to start your morning, she thought with an almighty yawn. And now she had to call Danny and wake him up. At any other time of the day, she might have taken some childish glee from irritating Danny, but right now, she just felt sorry for him.

Mel punched in the number without even having to check and heard it ring a few times.

"What?" Danny's voice sounded deep, tired and pissed.

"Hey, it's Mel. Looks like we've got another vic and Web wants us down there while everything's still fresh.

"I'll pick you up in 15 minutes" Danny sighed.

Mel heard a sleepy female voice on the other end of the phone. Mel raised her eyebrows. Oops. Now she really did feel bad about waking him up.

"See you then" Mel quickly hung up. She had 15 minutes to get dressed, try and look presentable, get her brain and body going and make some very strong coffee. As Mel headed for the bathroom, she knew it was a big ask.

True to his word, 15 minutes later, Danny pulled up outside Mel's house where she was waiting with two steaming cups. "I figured you might need this," Mel said as she handed him the cup and got in.

After taking a long swallow of some of the best damn coffee he'd ever had, Danny said "You're a lifesaver" in heartfelt tones.

"Where are we going?" Danny asked. Mel gave him the address and they took off. As they headed to the scene, they were mostly silent, trying to wake up and assembling the known facts before getting more pieces to this jigsaw puzzle.

When they go there, there were at least 3 cop cars with lights flashing and Mel could see that Paul, Web and Rebecca were already there.

"Big surprise" Mel thought as she and Danny flashed their badges to the uniform standing outside the gate like a guard dog and proceeded into the house.

"Hey" Paul greeted them. "Bring any caffeine for me?"

"We're fresh out" Danny growled, showing his displeasure at having been woken so early.

Paul began to walk around the room, reading from his notebook. "Victim is Victoria Stanley, 28, lives with her room mate. Room mate came home after her shift at a restaurant and discovered the body. Cause of death looks to be massive head injury."

"Weapon?" Mel asked, trying to see the bigger picture.

Paul shook his head. "Just like the other crime scenes, it looks like the UNSUB took it with him."

Danny, Mel and Paul walked into the victim's bedroom, where the photographer was busy documenting the scene. Web and Rebecca were standing in the middle of the room. Rebecca was slowly looking around the room, memorising the scene and adding it to the information they already knew. Web was watching her and he acknowledged Danny and Mel's arrival with a nod in their direction.

"Hey" Danny said, but didn't really expect a response from wither Web or Rebecca. He wasn't disappointed.

"Body been moved?"

"The killer arranged the body" Rebecca said, speaking for the first time. The body was lying flat on its back with both hands placed on the stomach, her legs stretched straight out. With her eyes closed, she looked peaceful.

"We sure this is our guy?" Danny asked.

Paul shrugged. "So far, the MO fits. Blunt force trauma to the head, victims aged 25 to 30, no sign of forced entry and" Paul said looking closer at the body, "a pink carnation left on the victim's chest."

"The killer doesn't feel remorse, but he doesn't want to leave her exposed or vulnerable." Rebecca looked at Web. "I think we're looking at someone who knew her and disliked her, but probably also respected her."

Web nodded. Addressing Paul and Rebecca, he said "I want you two to interview everyone the victim works with, lovers, enemies, but keep it current. Based on our last vic, it could be pretty extensive. Danny, I want you to dig up everything you can on Victoria Stanley. History, schooling, family, don't leave anything out. Mel, I want you to catalogue everything in this room and give the list to Carter to cross reference any similarities to the other vic's and then help Danny."

As Web walked out of the room, Mel asked "Anyone told Victoria's family?"

Web didn't even turn around. "The room mate's already told them."

Mel shook her head in disgust as she flipped open her notebook and prepared to inventory the scene.

"I'm going to head back to the office and see what I can find on Victoria Stanley" Danny said as he strode out of the room.

Paul cocked his head towards Rebecca. "Lets go wake up some people with good news and then interrogate them" he said wryly.

"See ya" Mel said absently. As Mel started cataloguing the items in the room, she paused to look at one of the many photos that adorned the room. It was obviously taken when the vic was still in high school. Victoria and four other kids in the photo, 2 guys and 2 girls, all grinning like idiots with their arms wrapped around each other, ready to take on the world. Mel cocked an eyebrow cynically. "Betcha didn't think it'd end up like this."

About four hours later, Mel walked into the office with a tall coffee cup, having just dropped off the list to Carter.

"Hey, got one of those for me?" Danny asked, looking up from his computer.

Mel frowned at him. "You're in the office Danny. Get off your butt and make yourself some."

"I'm tired. I've been up for hours" Danny defended himself.

Mel just glared at him, while Danny returned his gaze to the computer screen.

"Find anything?" Mel asked as she slipped behind her desk.

"Nothing that stands out. Parents divorced when she was 2, school and high school in the same town, moved to city when she was 19 to go to college, earned an arts degree and was working in an art gallery up until the time of her death about 7 hours ago."

"Ever been married?"

"Once, back when she was 19. Marriage lasted 18 months. Ended in divorce."

Mel's ears perked up. "What about the ex?"

"Moved to the city to be with her. How sweet" Danny muttered under his breath. "Still trying to find out what happened to him."

"I'll chase it up" Mel promised, polishing off her coffee. About an hour later, Mel called out "Jackpot" triumphantly.

"Five years ago, Victoria Ashby, nee Victoria Stanley, filed a restraining order against one Dennis Ashby, her then-husband. The divorce was finalised six months later."

"Maybe Mr. Ashby still has a grudge against his ex" Danny said.

Web walked out of his office. "News?"

Just then, Danny's phone rang. "Danny speaking." He listened for a second and then said "I'll put you on speaker phone." A second later, they heard Paul's voice.

"Hey, we've interviewed most of the vic's workmates and some of her friend's, but Rebecca wants to chase up on a couple of old colleagues of hers."

Rebecca's voice came on the line. "In the past 6 months, two people have left the gallery where she works and according to the owner, there was some conflict with our victim. Several of the staff members remember seeing some altercations between the victim and a former colleague, James Robson."

"We've found something here, too" Mel spoke. "A few years ago, she got a restraining order against her then husband. They divorced about six months later. Apparently he's gone back to living in their hometown."

Web nodded. "Paul, I want you to talk to the rest of her friends, see if there's anything they can tell you about our vic. Rebecca, see if there's any substance to the conflict with her former colleagues. One of them could be our UNSUB."

"Danny, Mel" Web said addressing them. "I want you to talk to her ex husband and find out exactly why she needed a restraining order against him and talk to her family and friends and see what they can tell you."

Mel and Danny looked at Web in alarm. "Web, he lives 3 hours away" Mel protested.

"Then you'd better get moving" he replied walking into his office.

Mel and Danny shared a look of disgust.

"Don't forget to pack an overnight bag" Paul warned.

"We'll be back for dinner. Right?" Danny said uncertainly.

"This is Web, the case is hot and we still don't know who our perp is" Paul pointed out calmly.

Mel rolled her eyes and Danny let out an angry breath.

"We'll call you when we get there" Mel said and hung up. "Guess I'll ask my sister if she can feed my dog."

"Guess I'll have to cancel my date."

Four hours later, after what seemed like an interminable 3 hour drive which mainly consisted of Danny and Mel arguing over which radio station to listen to and Mel trying to convince Danny that he would actually enjoy playing 'I, spy' with her, they arrived at the home of one Dennis Ashby.

Mel and Danny had already been to the local police station to get their thoughts on Dennis Ashby and to grease the wheels so that the local p.d wouldn't feel that the FBI were trying to deliberately keep them out of the loop.

They'd managed to snag a couple of spare desks to use if necessary and had learnt that Dennis Ashby had taken the separation with his wife real hard and that in the next six months, he'd turned to alcohol and lost his job at the local mechanic's and had basically become unrecognisable from the man he once was.

But his friends had rallied around him and helped turn lis life back around and gotten him into AA. He was also working again and gotten himself engaged. He was, according to the local sheriff, not the guy they were looking for. But he'd handed over his address and stated he had more pressing issues that watch the FBI interview an innocent man, which is how Mel and Danny came to be knockin' on his door. A man answered the door a few seconds later.

"Yes?"

"Dennis Ashby?"

"Yes"

Danny and Mel held out their badges. "I'm Special Agent Danny Love, this is Special Agent Sim, we're from the FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

As Danny was talking, Mel took the opportunity to examine Mr Ashby. He was in his late 20's she knew, but he looked slightly older than his years. Thin, average height, with sandy coloured hair and a three day growth. Harmless looking, Mel thought, but that would just make his job of blending into the crowd even easier if he was their guy.

"What's this about?" Ashby asked, re-capturing Mel's attention. He looked confused Mel noted, but not wary.

"I'm afraid we've got some bad news, sir. Your ex-wife died this morning." Mel paused. "She was murdered."

Ashby's face turned grey. "Jesus, has anyone told her Dad?"

"The family have been notified, Mr Ashby."

"Well what happened? I mean –"

"Sir, could we talk inside?" Mel interrupted.

"Oh. Yes. Yeah, sure, of course." Ashby let Danny and Mel into his living room. The place looked cozy and loved.

Danny stood by the window, while Mel sat across from Ashby.

"Do you know what happened to her? Do you know who did it?" Ashby looked genuinely grieved.

"We're investigating a number of leads at the moment sir. We'd actually like to ask you about your relationship with your ex wife" Mel stated.

"Why? What's that got to do with this?" Comprehension dawned and his eyes widened. "You don't think I had something to do with this?"

"Your marriage obviously didn't end well if your ex wife felt the need to get a restraining order against you" Danny said in a deceptively quiet voice.

Mel decided she would play the good cop to Danny's bad cop. "Sir, we're just trying to find out who did this and that means investigating all possibilities. The sooner we can talk to you and eliminate you as a suspect, the quicker we can follow up genuine leads."

Ashby stared at Mel and then at Danny. He took a deep, resigned breath and started addressing the window next to Danny. "Vicki and I were high school sweethearts. We married pretty much straight out of high school and she went to college and I went with her." Dennis half-smiled to himself. "Everything was okay at first, she was studying and I worked construction and we didn't have much except each other and it was great." The half-smile left his face. "Then, she met some people at college and started spending more and more time with them. I guess she began to see what life could be."

He looked helplessly at Mel. "She was studying and I was working and it was harder than we thought it was gonna be." Dennis sighed again. "Anyway, one day she came home and told me she wanted a divorce. I knew we hadn't been getting along, but I thought we could fix it. When she told me she wanted a divorce, I guess I just couldn't accept it. I didn't want to let it all go."

"I called her all the time. I went to some of her classes to see her." He closed his eyes. "God, I even confronted her at a bar when she was there with all of her friends. We got into one helluva fight."

He paused and Danny and Mel waited for him to continue. He sighed heavily again and looked out the window. "She got a restraining order against me the next day. But" he stressed looking straight at Danny, "it wasn't cause I ever hurt her. I just had a hard time dealing with the fact that our marriage was over. I would never hurt her" he repeated.

"We heard you had a hard time dealing with it, Mr Ashby" Danny spoke off-handedly, watching him closely. "Seems you started drinking."

Ashby looked angry at his words. Angry about what they might find? Danny wondered.

"Where'd you hear that?"

"We're the FBI, Mr Ashby. It's our job to investigate."

Dennis stared at Danny for a second.

"Yeah, okay, it's true, I started drinking. I lost my job, and yeah, I basically lost it in general. But I've turned my life around" he protested. "I've stopped drinking. I haven't had a drink in over four years. I've got a job, a house and I'm a respectable member of the community." He gazed levelly at Mel, then at Danny. "I am not a killer. I would never have hurt Vicki. Besides, all that was years ago. We'd made up since then. I –"

"Hi hon, sorry I'm la –" the words stopped abruptly as the woman stepped into the room and saw Danny and Mel there.

Dennis stood up immediately and crossed to the woman. "Kate, I have some bad news. Vicki died this morning. They think she was killed."

The woman gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Killed? How do they know that? Maybe it was an accident." She paused and wrapped her arms around Dennis. "Honey, I'm so sorry."

For a moment, the two of them just held each other. It was hard to see who was comforting who. The woman, Kate, had her face turned from Mel and Dennis had his face buried in Kate's neck. Danny watched them dispassionately and then cleared his throat. Dennis turned, but kept one arm around Kate.

"This is my fiancée Kate. Katie, these two are agents from the FBI. They're here to talk about Vicki."

Kate's eyes sharpened on Danny. "You don't think we had anything to do with this?" Kate looked shocked and angry.

"Ma'am, we're just following every possibility, so we can find this guy quickly." Danny answered. He paused. "Would you mind leaving so we can –"

"NO. I am NOT leaving my husband. I – "

"Sweetie, it's okay. We both know I didn't do this, so the sooner this is over, the better and I don't want you to have to hear this."

Kate looked ready to argue.

"Really" Dennis smiled gently at her. "It's okay."

Kate flicked a look at Danny, then nodded to Dennis, picked up the groceries she'd dropped on the floor and headed towards the kitchen. Mel watched Kate go then cocked her head slightly in Kate's direction to let Danny know she'd try and get some info from her. Danny nodded his head imperceptibly.

As Mel followed Kate, she heard Danny continue his questioning. "When was the last time you saw your ex-wife?"

Mel didn't hear the answer as she had found Kate in the kitchen unpacking groceries. Kate glanced at her and Mel smiled.

"Can I give you a hand?"

"No thanks. We're having friends over for dinner, so I should get started."

"I'm sorry we've interrupted your day like this, but we've got to try and get as much information as possible –"

"My husband did NOT do this" Kate interrupted harshly. "He could never do something like this."

Mel paused as something that had been bothering her clicked into place. "When did you two get married?"

"Oh" Kate flushed slightly. "We're not actually married yet. Next fall."

"That's a great time of year" Mel smiled. "Especially around here, I would imagine."

Kate's face lit up. "Oh yes, it's so beautiful. I wanted to get married sooner, but Dennis insisted only the best was good enough form me, and fall is our favourite season. He's such a romantic."

"Have you known him long?" Mel asked.

"Since high school" Kate replied. "My family had just moved here and I was so nervous about starting at a new school that I forgot my lunch money." She smiled reminiscently. "I was standing in the lunch line and I couldn't pay and I swear I was about to start crying when this hand reached past my face and this voice said 'Hear, my treat'". Kate gave a half laugh. "I guess I've been in love with him since then. That's how I know he didn't do this."

As Kate talked, Mel assessed her. Mousy brown hair, slim, kind of short. But it was obvious she was devoted to her fiancée. It showed in every action and word.

"Did you know Victoria long?" Mel asked, trying to gauge her feelings for the ex Mrs Ashby.

"I met her about the same time. We all started spending time together. She was really nice. Really friendly, you know. People just gravitated towards her." She looked at her feet. "How did she die?"

"We're really not able to release that information ma'am."

"Please call me Kate." She finished putting all the groceries away and started putting ingredients on the bench.

Kate looked at Mel. "I hope she didn't suffer" she said.

"I'm sure she didn't" Mel answered. Kate nodded and continued with her recipe.

Mel frowned. Something was bothering her. "What did you and Dennis do last night?" Mel asked smoothly changing the topic.

"Oh, we weren't able to do anything. He was working, so I just pottered around here, reading and cleaning."

Mel nodded. She could hear Danny finishing up his questioning in the lounge room. Mel smiled sympathetically at Kate. "I'm sorry for your loss. We'll be in touch if we need any more information."

They shook hands and Kate followed Mel back out into the living room.

"We'll be in touch if we need any more information, Mr Ashby" Danny was saying. "Don't leave town."

Dennis shot a withering look at Danny. "I've done nothing to run away from."

Mel nodded at the man as she and Danny walked out the front door. The last thing Mel saw before she shut the door was Kate going into Dennis's outstretched arms with a smile.

Once they were back inside their vehicle, Mel asked "What do you think?"

Danny glanced back at the house before starting the car and heading back to the sherriff's office. "We're going to have to check his alibi and I wonder if he's still pissed about being dumped by his high school sweetheart."

"Even though he seems to have the perfect life now?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's just making sure that the new missus can't talk to the old one about what sort of husband he is."

Mel stared out the window for a bit. "What do you think?" she repeated.

Danny shrugged. "My gut says no. But something. . . . ." he trailed off.

"I know what you mean" said Mel. And she did. It wasn't something she was able to put her finger on yet, but something about him, about the situation, was bothering her.

Mel and Danny were thinking the same thing: "Better figure it out soon. Or someone else might be dead."

Mel and Danny returned to the police station and continued working there for the rest of the day finding out everything they could on Dennis and Kate and adding it to the other puzzle pieces of the case.

They spoke to Paul and Rebecca several times during the day, but they hadn't found anything earth shattering either.

They were still waiting to see if Carter had anything to add.

It had been decided that if something did come up, Danny and Mel should be near Dennis, as he was still their strongest lead yet. Which is how at 6pm that night, after a VERY long day, Danny and Mel were checking in to the town's only motel.

The girl behind the desk was young and eager to please, but cleared her throat nervously when she realised that both Danny and Mel were checking in.

"Um, I'm really sorry, but I must've misunderstood when you booked the room earlier."

Danny frowned. "Why?"

She cleared her throat nervously again. "Cause I um, I thought there was only one of you checking in."

Mel had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Why does it matter if there's 1 or 2 of us?"

The girl smiled embarrassedly. "Because we've only got one available room left."


End file.
